Telecom Leadership Forum:Voice&Data 5G+ Conference

Overview

The 5G era has moved well beyond enhanced mobile broadband. As India progresses towards 5G-Advanced and prepares the foundation for 6G by 2030, networks are evolving into intelligent, autonomous, and deeply integrated digital systems. This transformation is reshaping how industries operate, how critical infrastructure is secured, and how national digital capabilities are built for scale.

The Voice&Data 5G+ Conference 2025 examines this shift through a pragmatic and forward-looking lens—mapping how AI-native networks, converged terrestrial–satellite systems, secure communication frameworks, and India’s emerging deep-tech ecosystem are accelerating the transition from connectivity to platform-driven, experience-centric digital infrastructure.

With participation from policymakers, telco leadership, technology providers, cybersecurity experts, satcom innovators, and enterprise CXOs, the conference provides a balanced view of the technology, economics, security, and governance required to build India’s next-generation communication fabric.

As India leads in digital adoption, the 7th Edition Voice&Data 5G+ Conference 2026 serves as a premier platform to explore 5G’s real-world impact, deployment challenges, and India’s path to 6G.

Program

Time	Session
09:00 AM onwards	Welcome & Registrations
09:30 AM – 11:20 AM	Inaugural Session Welcome Address: Pradeep Gupta, Chairman, CyberMedia Group Watch on Demand Opening Note: Atul Gupta- Partner and Head, Digital Trust and Cyber, KPMG in India Watch on Demand Industry Address: Lt Gen Dr SP Kochhar, Director General, COAI Watch on Demand Industry Address: Ambika Khurana, Chief Regulatory & Corporate Affairs Officer, Vodafone Idea Watch on Demand Industry Address: Pankaj Mohindroo, Chairman, ICEA Watch on Demand Industry Address: Ravi Gandhi, President & Chief Regulatory Officer, Reliance Retail & Reliance Jio Watch on Demand Industry Address: Sandeep Saxena, Head of Technology and Solutions in Mobile Networks, Nokia India Watch on Demand
11:20 AM – 12:15 PM	Industry Outlook: From Connectivity to Capability: Shaping Viksit Bharat Prabhu Ram, Vice President – Industry Research Group, CyberMedia Research Watch on Demand PANEL DISCUSSION: From 5G to AI-enabled Network Futures Arvind Bali, Vice Chairman & Board Advisor, Globe Teleservices Sudakshina Laha, Head of Services - MSIT & ADM, Cloud Software, and Services, Ericsson Amit Sethi, Head - 5G Solutions, TCS Amit Sinha Roy, Senior Advisor – Digital Ecosystems, Alliances & Innovation Moderator: Sunil David, Digital Tech Consultant & former Regional Director – IoT (India & ASEAN), AT&T Watch on Demand
12:15 PM – 12:55 PM	PANEL DISCUSSION: Telcos to TechCos: The Growth Agenda A business-first playbook for platform-driven growth, new revenue models, and repeatable enterprise solutions. Salil Khanna, National Head - Enterprise & Govt Business, Reliance Jio Sukhjit Singh, CTO & Director Technical, AT&T Asia Pacific Rakhee A. Chachra, Global Research Leader (TME), Institute of Business Value, IBM Moderator: Jaideep Ghosh, Former Partner, KPMG Watch on Demand
12:55 PM – 1:10 PM Fireside Chat	Beyond connectivity: enterprise expectations from digital networks Gaurav Mathur, Vice President – Information Technology, Samvardhana Motherson International, With Ashok Pandey, Executive Editor, PCQuest & DQ Channels Watch on Demand
01:10 -02:10 PM	Networking Lunch
02:15 PM – 02:55 PM	PANEL DISCUSSION: Critical Communication and Secure Digital Infrastructure Strengthening Public Protection and Disaster Relief (PPDR), defence, emergency systems, financial networks, secure-by-design architectures, zero trust, and enhanced quantum-safe readiness. Prashant Chugh, Head Post Quantum Cryptography, C-DOT Dharmender Khajuria, Head - Network Partnerships, Bharti Airtel Col Santanu Das (Retd) , Head – Regulatory, Altius Telecom Infrastructure Trust Sunil David, Digital Tech Consultant & former Regional Director – IoT (India & ASEAN), AT&T Moderator: Lt Col Dr Sidharth Shukla, Defence Communications Expert & Telecom Consultant Watch on Demand
02:55 PM – 03:15 PM	From Science to Scale: Building India’s Deep-Tech Backbone Innovation Keynote Jyoti Sharma, Head, RDI Cell, Department of Science & Technology, GoI Watch on Demand
03:15 PM – 03:35 PM Fireside Chat	The Economics of Next-Gen Networks: Performance, Cost, and Scale How telecom operators are recalibrating network economics as traffic patterns, AI workloads, and ultra-low latency services reshape infrastructure demands. Randeep Singh Sekhon, CTO, Bharti Airtel with Jaijit Bhattacharya, Founder & President, Centre for Digital Economy Policy Research Watch on Demand
03:35 PM – 04:30 PM	Global Outlook:Telcos and the Looming Threat of Cyberattacks Across the World David Sehyeon Baek, Founder and CEO, Pygmalion Global Watch on Demand Panel Discussion: India’s 6G Blueprint: From Vision to 2030 Rollout How India plans to move from the Bharat 6G Vision to real deployment by 2030—aligning R&D, standards, spectrum, testbeds, manufacturing, and talent. Nirmesh Yadav, GM & Head Emerging Technology & Industry Alliance, Bharti Airtel Rajesh Kumar Pathak, Director General, Bharat 6G Alliance Monika Gupta, Vice President Group Portfolio, Capgemini Ashwani Kumar, Head of Standards & Spectrum Engagements at Nokia Solutions & Networks Moderator: Jaspreet Singh, Partner and CRO, Grant Thornton Bharat Watch on Demand
04:30 PM – 04:50 PM Fireside Chat	Make in India: Enabling a Self-Reliant Digital India How India can operationalise design-to-manufacture capabilities to strengthen self-reliance across electronic components, infrastructure equipment, and security systems. Avneet Singh Marwah, CEO, Super Plastronics, in conversation with Pradeep Gupta, Chairman – CyberMedia Watch on Demand
04:50 PM	Vote of Thanks: Shubhendu Parth, Editor, Voice&Data Watch on Demand